Royal Oak will keep the city-owned Normandy Oaks Golf Course open for one more year while city officials study the best alternative use for the land.

Officials plan to consider whether to use the course for other recreational uses and sell a portion of the land to fund park improvements and possibly develop a splash park and community center with a public pool.

“To me the biggest thing is shutting it down without knowing what we’re going to do,” said Mayor Jim Ellison, who voted with a majority of commissioners to keep the course open one year.

City administrators recommended closing the 48-acre, nine-hole course on Normandy east of Coolidge, chiefly because it is losing money for the contractor that manages it due to underuse.

Advertisement

The course draws less than half as many golfers as the Royal Oak Golf Course a half mile away. City administrators also questioned the wisdom of operating two municipal golf courses as the sport’s popularity wanes.

“Most people in Royal Oak don’t golf,” said resident Tom Regan, adding despite all the green grass, golf courses are bad for the environment with runoff fertilizers.

Other residents said the city was moving too quickly to close the course. The city Parks and Recreation Advisory Board recently recommended the city keep the course open.

“I remain opposed to closing Normandy Oaks without any kind of plan,” said Mike Pipinski. “Closing it in 2014 doesn’t make economic sense.”

While some residents complained of a lack of transparency, Ellison said the issue had come up as scheduled and false rumors about selling the land quickly to a developer excited fears in the community.

The city hasn’t sought or talked to a developer at this point, said City Manager Don Johnson. Officials last talked of selling the Normandy Oaks property in 2005. The highest of 17 bids was $18.7 million but the city scuttled the plan because of objections over putting a housing development at the site.

Any sale of the land would have to be approved in a citywide vote.

Commissioners in a 5-2 vote decided Monday to renegotiate Royal Oak’s contract with Jim Spatafore, the contracted manager of Royal Oak’s two golf courses. He lost about $96,000 last year and the city is expected to give him better rent terms because it is ill equipped to manage the golf courses.

As those negotiations happen, the city will create a task force to look at the question of how to use Normandy Oaks.

Officials have suggested possibly using the land for disc golf, cross country running or skiing, soccer or other sports and selling a portion of the property to fund park and recreation activities.